I'm Learning How to Timelapse Plants
I've wanted to learn how to timelapse plants for a while now, but I always just assumed it would either be complicated or expensive, so I held off.
The other day, however, I came across a video on Youtube, where a man showed how he timelapsed his plants, and it wasn't nearly as complicated as I expected it to be, and I had most of the equipment that I needed already —the most important parts being a camera, tripod and intervalometer, which I bought a couple of years ago to timelapse the night sky (and the fireflies).
The only thing I needed to buy to get started was a grow light on a stand, to ensure I had consistent lighting on my subject.
Because most of my garden is planted in containers, I was able to bring my subjects inside, so I could have more control over the photo session. I grabbed my delphiniums, set up my light, camera and intervalometer and I took my first timelapse.
It was so exciting!
The problem I ran across was my camera's battery, so I ordered an AC adapter online. I read a couple of horror story reviews on Amazon about the cheap knockoff adapters killing people's expensive cameras, so I sprung for the Canon one, and it works like a charm.
Before the adapter arrived, however, I did two more timelapse sessions - a quick session with my prayer plant because I know she moves a lot, and then another session with my very thirsty delphiniums, because I wanted to capture the plant being refreshed after a much needed drink of water. It's been super hot and dry here, so I've really got to stay on top of the watering.
After those sessions, I realized I needed a second grow light, in order to better light my photos, so I ordered another one, and then I wanted a black background, to help the flowers really stand out, so I found this cut up curtain at the thrift store, washed and ironed it, cut off the wings, and mounted it on the wall.
What a difference that made!
I recorded my bee balm first, and then upgraded to one of my dahlia's.
Dahlia's are a commitment! I had my camera going for 104 hours to capture a 6 second clip! I also learned after the fact that I should have adjusted the camera upward, as the dahlia grew, because it almost went out of frame. Oops! At least I now know that trick for next time, because I'm going to be timelapsing all summer long!
Hi, I’m Kristen!
I envision a world where you and I rediscover what it is to be human, through connection with ourselves, each other and the natural world around us.